Couples Career Counselling

YOUR NEEDS

When will it be “time” to engage a professional in working, with you and your partner, on these issues ?

Why include others in YOUR decision ?

Parents are often, directly or indirectly, included in careers counselling with school leavers. Parents are a significant and acknowledged element in the careers exploration, the decision processes and support of their teenage children.

Less well recognized (in career development theory, research and practice) is the role of the person’s spouse/partner as a participant in the decision process and their support through any career transition.

Our Service

Changing work patterns (eg. Site rotations, interstate projects, international postings, on-call demands) effect family life.

Program Goals:

Relate career decisions to lifestyle plans of married/couples/partners

Use positive communication, negotiation and conflict resolution

Focus attention on and develop skills in joint decision making

Approach:

Create a time, place and safety for building trust in communication

Introduce evidence based “ground rules” for positive communication

Identify interests and emotions involved in the careers change issue/s

Review a structure for your discussion and decision making

Benefits:

Both partners are involved – builds commitment to a decision / path

Both parties issues are appreciated, considered and respected

Develops partner’s support in adopting new behaviours/decisions/moves

Establishes a periodic review of career/relationship development (check-up)

QUALITY ASSURANCE

In my 30th year as a counselling and organizational psychologist, I am combining my two fundamental interests in psychology – careers development and couples counselling.

Across many years of providing careers counselling, in schools and organisations, I noticed that individual clients would review their hopes, hunches and plans with their “significant others” (parents and partners) after our sessions.

I began to think that my efforts might be more fruitful if these “significant others” were also engaged in the counselling and planning processes which occurred in the sessions.

I also noticed that my own career direction was influenced by my partner(s) and the quality of our discussions.

When I saw Prof David Blustein deliver a keynote speech, on Relational Careers Counselling, at the International Applied Psychology Congress in Melbourne in 2010, I felt deeply affirmed.

In recent years I had the opportunity to develop my knowledge and skills in couples counselling, and integrate this with career (identity) development models I had worked with for many years.

Selected sample of projects

EVIDENCE BASE

Social Construction & Relational Careers Counselling

Recently international careers development authorities, Blustein et al. (2012) and Richardson (2012) have written of the social context of career decision-making, including the participation of the spouse/partner.

Blustein D et al. (2004) Toward a relational perspective of the psychology of careers and working: A social constructivist analysis, J. of Vocational Behaviour

Blustein, D., Medvide, M., Kozan, S., (2012) A Tour of a New Paradigm Relationships and Work The Counseling Psychologist February 2012 40, 243-254